On Redemption Island, Brandon tells Ozzy the circumstances surrounding his ouster. Brandon doesn't hold it against his former tribe; Ozzy thinks he's an idiot. Meanwhile back at camp, Coach gets all fired up about Albert lying to him and in front of the jury.
Redemption Island duel, Ozzy vs. Brandon, is an endurance challenge where they have to hang onto a pole. Like climb a pole like a monkey and then just hang there with a tiny foothold. They're both super intense and there's a ton of muscle cramping, but ultimately Ozzy wins and goes back into the game and Brandon heads to the jury.
Once Ozzy rejoins the tribe, Coach claims he wants to take Ozzy to the finals and claims he will even give him an immunity necklace is he thinks Ozzy is in jeopardy. Coach thinks he's got it wrapped up because he has deals with pretty much every person left.
Immunity Challenge: Hold a handle that makes a board level, and then build a card house on that board to a certain height. So they have to build one-handed and not let the board wobble or their house comes tumbling down. Sophie has a great structure but she runs out of pieces about halfway up. Ozzy gets nearly to the top and runs out of pieces so he has to pretty much start over. Sophie knocks her pieces over and some fall on the ground, so she can't pick them up. She tries to convince Albert to drop his stack and pick up her lost pieces but he refuses, and then Probst tells them that they can't help one another. Way to make up rules on the fly, Probst. They're obviously all focused on making sure Ozzy doesn't win immunity. And then Ozzy wins immunity. Oops.
The scrambling before Tribal Council is comical. First, everyone is going to get rid of Rick. Then they start talking about Sophie. Then Albert and Ozzy team up and Ozzy reveals that Coach made a vow to take Ozzy to the finals. Albert sort of doesn't buy it, but kind of does. Then they go to Tribal. Coach has the idol, and this is his last chance to play it, so everyone has to assume he will. Sophie and Albert make the argument that they have a chance to beat Ozzy in the Immunity Challenge. Rick's argument is that he WON'T beat Ozzy, so Ozzy should vote with him. Ozzy reveals what Coach told him about their deal, and no one seems that surprised. And then Sophie breaks down and sobs because Ozzy calls her a spoiled brat and claims that everyone thinks so, and she feels personally attacked. The jury seems touched by her emotion. And they vote out Rick, who is useless, so why not?
After Tribal, Coach goes to Ozzy and says, "What was up with spilling the beans at Tribal?" Ozzy claims that he has a hard time trusting people in the game because he's been burned. They reaffirm their desire to go to the end together. Then they head to the Final Immunity Challenge: complete an obstacle course to collect bags of puzzle pieces, and then put the puzzle together. Ozzy gets all of his bags back first, but they all return with their bags before Ozzy even gets one piece completed. But Sophie goes on a monster run of puzzle-putting-together and wins immunity! She beat Ozzy! Yay!
After the challenge, Ozzy makes his best argument to Coach to keep him around, and he hits all of Coach's honor and warrior buttons. At Tribal, Ozzy points out that they could tie the vote and pit him against Albert in a fire-making tie-breaker. Coach is like, "Nope!" and Ozzy gets voted out for his third and final time this season. Guess it's back to porn for him!
Albert's argument is, "You guys are awesome!" Sophie's argument is, "I deserve to win and I will list the ways logically." Coach's argument is, "I was an asshole last time I played, and I tried not to be one this time."
Then it's time for the jury questions. Ozzy wants Coach to admit that he played with less than honor and integrity, and Coach does. Jim wants to know why Albert thinks he should win over the others. Albert says that he carried Coach deep into the game, and that Sophie had a terrible social game. Dawn wants to know more about Sophie's strategy. Sophie says that she aligned with Coach because she knew he would be loyal, much like the young girls that many male winners have used to get to the end. She calls Coach a young girl!
Rick is SUPER BITTER and calls Albert out for his God bullshit in manipulating Brandon. Brandon tries to get Albert to admit that he knew Brandon was going home when he gave up his immunity necklace. Albert won't, but his answer makes it pretty obvious that he kind of did. Whitney tells Albert that he's a weasel and Coach that he used religion to bully people, and tells Sophie that she's kind of a bitch. Sophie emotionally admits that social skills are not her best quality. Edna tells her fellow jury that it's the nature of the game that they might get duped, and they all got duped, and they need to get over it. During Keith's question, Sophie busts out that they staged the discovery of the Hidden Immunity Idol, shocking Brandon. I was wondering when that was going to come out. Coach's final speech, in response to Cochran's question, is basically, "I suck and everyone hates me, and I'm terrible at strategy." That's convince 'em, Coach!
Final vote: Sophie wins 5-3. up: reunion.
Previously on Survivor: Coach and Ozzy returned. Were there tons of people clamoring for more returning players? Like now that Boston Rob won, I'm kind of done with returning players. I can't think of anyone I want to see again. Anyway, Ozzy's tribe was thrilled to have him, but Coach's tribe was less excited. And yet, Coach made an alliance on the first night with Brandon, Sophie, Albert, and Rick, and he also found the Hidden Immunity Idol. Ozzy volunteered to go to Redemption Island, and his gamble paid off when he won the duel and returned in time for a merge with the two tribes having even numbers. Except then Cochran flipped, and the former Savaii members were picked off one by one. Ozzy kept winning duels and stayed on Redemption Island, and the one time he was able to make contact, Coach made a finals alliance with him. By the end, the original first night alliance of five was the final five. Brandon gave up his Immunity Necklace to Albert and got voted out like a dummy. The final duel will be Ozzy vs. Brandon, with the winner returning to the game to duke it out to the finals.
So now that we're all caught up, let's head to Redemption Island for Brandon's arrival. Brandon tells Ozzy that he got blindsided (well, sort of), and then interviews that he forgives Albert and he loves him anyway. Brandon tells Ozzy what really happened, with giving up his necklace, and Ozzy interviews that Brandon didn't get blindsided at all, and he made a really dumb move. I actually am on Ozzy's side for once as he says that Brandon is playing "a blind faith game" and he's playing as if he's playing with God, when he's actually playing with "human beings that are greedy and want that money."
The remains of Te Tuna return to camp. Sophie interviews that Tribal Council was crazy and fantastic, and she thinks it was great that Albert didn't give Brandon back his necklace in front of the jury, because it looked bad. Albert tells Coach and Sophie that he honestly didn't know that Brandon was going home, or he would have given the necklace back. Coach gives him the, "Al-beeeeeeert?" Like, "Seriously, dude? Are you really trying to play it that way?" Coach interviews angrily that he's sick of people lying and acting holier-than-thou and hamming it up for the jury. Because Coach has never lied, or acted holier-than-thou or hammed it up for the jury? Oh, wait. He's done all of those things. Coach kind of loses it on Albert and says that he won't be made a fool of, because it's happened too many times in this game. Coach is getting REALLY worked up over something that is not THAT big of a deal. I think Coach is realizing that his world is crumbling. Albert interviews that today was humbling and he needs to repair his alliance and get back in good standing with his tribe. Good luck with that, dude. Maybe you could do the laundry. Also, where is invisible Rick during this whole conversation?
Ozzy and Brandon head to Redemption Island tree mail and find out that they are heading to the final duel. The winner will return to camp and the loser will go to the jury. Ozzy interviews that he's been eating really well and preparing for this duel. He adds that he's enjoyed his time on Redemption Island and has found out a lot of things about himself. Ozzy has that undereye-circled ashy-skinned scary intensity normally associated with really crazy people. I think he's spent a little TOO much time by himself, if you know what I mean.
Duel time! This is a simple one: hold onto a pole as long as you can. I was trying to fit in a stripper/that's what she said joke but they all seemed too obvious, so let's just pretend I made one and move on, okay? Ozzy and Brandon shimmy up a telephone-pole sized pole that has tiny grooves cut out about every foot or so. They have to just hang on as long as possible with a very narrow foothold. After about twenty minutes, they both look sweaty and pained. The spectators yell out support for Brandon, and of course Probst has to comment on it. After another time cut, they've been up there forty minutes. I don't even know if I could just stay standing for forty minutes straight with little food and in great heat. Ozzy starts to struggle and wants to stretch out his legs. Brandon slips a bit and ends up squeezing the pole with his legs instead of using a toehold. They keep looking at one another, hoping that their opponent will lose it. Brandon gets a look of desperation on his face as he starts to slowly slide down the pole. Ozzy looks incredibly intense but stays near the top of the pole. Brandon gets down to the lowest notch, so if he slips now, he's done. A few moments later, Brandon loses his grip and falls to the ground. He and Ozzy hug stiffly.
Probst tells Brandon that he wore his heart on his sleeve and put it all out there. And despite being eliminated, Probst notes that Brandon looks "jubulant." Uh, that's not a word, Probst. Brandon says that he started the game to win the money, but after about seven days, he had a "heart-to-heart with God." Sophie does what I would do in this situation, and examines her cuticles and looks bored. I don't begrudge anyone their religious experiences; I just don't want to hear about them. Brandon tells his former tribemates that he loves them and hobbles off to the jury. Probst tells Ozzy that he's been an underdog from day one. Well, not really. He wasn't an underdog before the merge. He was the frontrunner, because his tribe loved him. Ozzy promises them that he'll be coming for him harder than ever. That's... an interesting strategy. Sophie interviews that she can only hope that Ozzy fails to win every immunity challenge. You and me both, sister.
Ozzy returns to camp with the remaining Te Tuna, and everyone just stands around awkwardly. Ozzy tries to cut the tension by acknowledging that none of them wanted him to be the one to return. Heh heh. Shuffle shuffle. Coach comes by and Ozzy follows him and everyone just lets this happen. Do they trust Coach that much? Why do people just stand by while others go off in small groups? Hello? Coach tells Ozzy that he made an amazing run. Ozzy just nods his head like, "Yes, I am awesome and it's about time one of you said it out loud." Ozzy really loves himself. I mean, it is great that he won all those duels, but who did he really beat? Edna? Cochran? Most of the people were on Redemption Island because they couldn't win an Immunity Challenge to save their (island) lives, right?
Anyway, Coach says that he doesn't think Ozzy's going anywhere, but if Coach wins immunity, and he thinks Ozzy is in trouble, he'll give him the necklace. That sounds really generous (and dumb) until Coach adds that he also has the Hidden Immunity Idol. So it's not so much giving up your own dinner for a starving man as it is letting the starving man have the meal that you were going to throw out anyway. I am curious what Coach supposes his alliance-mates would think if he gave Ozzy a necklace. I don't think Coach has thought this one through. And for someone who was so upset by Albert's lies, Coach put a lot of qualifiers on his own offer to Ozzy. He has plausible deniability; he can say that he didn't think Ozzy was in trouble, so he didn't give up the necklace, which is what Albert did. I just don't get Coach's strategy here. Even if Ozzy wins both of the remaining Immunity Challenges, Coach has got the numbers to make it to the final three, AND he has the Hidden Immunity Idol. I don't think this alliance with Ozzy is necessary. Be nice to him, pet him a little in case he ends up on the jury, but promise him a necklace? Makes no sense to me, since it's only going to piss everyone else off.
Ozzy interviews that he doesn't really trust Coach's offer, because he doubts that Coach would want to take him to the end. Ozzy appeals to Coach's sense of entitlement and says that he wants to go to the finals with Coach, because it's THEIR game. Coach interviews that he does want to win against Ozzy, but he has a lot of alliances to worry about. Coach thinks it's his game to lose, because he has deals with all of the other remaining players to go to the finals. The problem with having deals with four other people is that you can only take two, and the other two are going to end up on the jury, pissed that you broke your word. Again, has Coach thought about this? The only way this works is if you've broken your word a lot in the game and you can argue that you did what needed to be done at every turn. But if you've played the game Coach has tried to play? Where you claim that you make every move out of loyalty and honor? You've already lost two jury votes that should have been yours, since they were former tribemates.
The morning, it's time for the Immunity Challenge. I think part of the reason this group suddenly looks so rough is that Edna isn't around to do their laundry. I'm not kidding. Albert's shirt is crusty and Sophie has been wearing the same tank top for like four days straight. The challenge is to pull down on a handle which will raise one end of a balancing board. With their free hand, they have to build a house of "cards" (actually thin blocks of wood) to a certain height. First person to get their house to a certain height wins immunity. Probst reminds them that the person voted out tonight goes straight to the jury, like a normal game of Survivor.
They all grab their handles and get to test out the balancing board for a minute, and then they start building. It's tough because if they lean over too much to grab a card, the whole board tilts. Probst asks if any of them build card houses for fun, and Sophie says that she does, and has a book on how to make them. Time passes, and Probst notes that Coach, Ozzy, and Sophie are all doing well, while Albert and Coach are nowhere. He adds that Sophie's structure looks indestructible, and it really does. It's kind of crooked, but the way it's built, it can lean a bit to one side or the other and it's not going anywhere.
So that seems like a good thing for Sophie except...she runs out of pieces with her tower about halfway done. She says kind of brattily, "I don't have any pieces left" and Probst says that tile management is part of the challenge. I wonder if they planned it that way? It seems like he would have said something in the opening if the tiles were limited. It does add a layer to the challenge, but it also seems like they didn't foresee it happening. So Sophie has to start dismantling her tower. Ozzy is at about the same height, and so is Coach, but then Coach's falls down. Ozzy gets to his last piece, and it's not tall enough. He takes his whole stack down and starts over. Probst reports that Albert and Rick have finally started building something. Sophie takes the lead, but then her entire rebuilt part falls, though her original build remains.
Sophie's biggest problem right now is that when her tower fell, her pieces scattered all over the place and she can't get them without letting go of her handle. She tells Albert, who is to her, to drop his stack and help her pick up her pieces. Ballsy! Albert's like, "Um, I'm kind of working on my own thing here." Sophie tells him to do it or she'll beat him and he mumbles something. She gets frustrated and tells him to drop his stack! And to be fair, given how solid her first seven levels are, there's no way he's beating her. He's got six flimy-as-hell levels built up and his board is not at all level so they're going to fall soon. And I see her point, which is that it doesn't really matter which one of them wins as long as they beat Ozzy, so they can vote him out. On the other hand, they can't REALLY see each other's stacks, and Albert thinks he's got something going. I don't think I would help her, but I can see why she asked. But she could have been a little more polite about it. Finally Probst rules that there is no helping in this challenge; he said in post-show interviews that he has power to make rule interpretations on the fly as needed, and that one does make sense for the reasons he stated. He makes the subtext text and says that if they want Ozzy out of the game, they will have to beat him individually, not as a team.
Ozzy and Coach have their stacks built back up. Ozzy is short a few tiles because some of his fell on the ground last time he lost it. Ozzy and Coach are really close to the end. Albert's entire stack falls, and Sophie's keeps falling as well. There is no reason why Ozzy's stack should be standing. It's so flimsy, but he just has really good balance, I guess. Ozzy is like a centimeter from winning, and his hands are shaking as he places his last tile. Everyone else stops to watch. Ozzy wins, and he punches his structure out like a MAN. Take it easy there, Greg Brady. It was a house of cards, not a dick-measuring contest. Sophie is PISSED at herself that she lost.
Back at camp, Ozzy wants to rehash the challenge, but no one really wants to hear it. He doesn't really care, as he interviews that he's been waiting to see this tribe eat itself. He wants to pit them against each other so he'll end up looking like a good guy. Since Ozzy doesn't have to worry about the scheming, he goes for a swim alone. Albert can't believe Sophie didn't win, and Coach says he was really close. Coach and Albert quickly decide that it should be Rick who goes home tonight. Coach says that they don't want to take Rick to the finals because he's a hard worker and everyone likes him. What's Rick's argument? I won no challenges and did no strategizing? Seems like his opponent would just have to say the word coattails and he's out. I mean, I don't want to see Rick in the finals because he's dull as dirt, but I don't know why they jump on him so quickly. Coach interviews that he was originally leaning towards voting for Albert, but now he thinks that the jury might like Rick because he has great stories. Rick? Are we talking about the same guy? Cowboy hat? Mustache? No one knew his name until like last week? THAT GUY? More importantly, Coach says that Rick can claim that he kept his word, so Coach is admitting that he himself hasn't done so.
Ozzy and Albert have a chat. Ozzy tells Albert that he'd rather see Albert stay, and he thinks Sophie is a brat. He points out how she ordered Albert to pick up her pieces in the challenge. I know Ozzy's just trying to stir shit up, but then he calls Sophie pretentious. Okay, you can say a lot of things about Sophie and that move, but pretentious? I don't think Ozzy knows what that word means. Presumptuous, maybe? Ozzy, just go back to being pretty and climbing palm trees and let the grown-ups do the talking. Albert interviews that he thinks Sophie might be tougher to beat in front of a jury than Rick, because she's well-spoken, so he's considering his options carefully.
Coach and Rick go for a walk and Coach tries like hell to avoid saying that he's voting for Rick. Rick asks flat out who Coach is voting for and Coach says he's going to "throw a vote somebody's way." Why doesn't Rick follow up on that? Whose way? Rick asks what Sophie's going to do, and Coach says that Sophie has turned on Rick. That bitch! Unlike Coach, who is just throwing a vote someone's way, which is a totally different thing than turning on someone! Rick is no dummy as he interviews that Coach keeps trying to walk away from him and won't come right out and say anything but keeps talking around the subject. Rick tells Coach that he's thinking about voting for Sophie, and wants to know what Coach thinks about that, since Coach is Rick's first alliance. Here's where it all goes wrong for Coach every time. He had to know Rick was going to confront him about this, and he needed to have a plan in place for when that happened. Instead, he tries to wing it and not answer the question, and that never works because there's nowhere to hide in camp, so he ends up having to lie. And that shit is going to come back on him. In this case, Rick keeps pressing Coach for an answer, and Coach finally says that he would vote for Sophie (but not that he will) and then says that he will NOT vote for Rick. Oh, Coach.
Ozzy and Albert have another conversation. Albert tries to break the news that they're going to ditch Rick, but Ozzy makes another run at getting Albert to get rid of Sophie. Albert needs to think about why Ozzy wants Sophie gone so badly on this vote. Could it be because Ozzy knows that Sophie is the only one who could potentially beat him in a challenge? Otherwise, why does Ozzy give a shit who they vote out? Ozzy's got a jury locked up. None of the former Savaii members hate him because he didn't vote any of them out, so he's got their votes. And he can probably win over the rest by saying that he won every individual challenge in which he competed, which is truly impressive. So Ozzy can go up against any two in the finals. Albert, use your brain! Ozzy tries to confuse the matter further by revealing that Coach made a finals deal with him, so Albert will probably be the to go. How does that support the argument to get rid of Sophie, though? Ozzy's just throwing everything to the wall to see what sticks.
Albert interviews that it makes sense that Coach would want to take Ozzy to the end, because Coach always talks about wanting to go up against the best and win for true victory. Once Ozzy is gone, Albert asks Coach about this so-called deal, and says that it's comical and it obviously didn't happen. Instead of answering straight, Coach says he can't wait to vote Ozzy out. Albert asks again, "Did you tell [Ozzy] that it was going to be you, him, and Sophie?" Coach swigs his water, shakes his head, and grimace. Coach is comically bad at trying to avoid answering questions. Was he like this all season or am I just noticing now because he's being confronted by so many different people? Does he really think that as long as he can tell Albert, "I never SAID I didn't have a deal with Ozzy," that Albert will be like, "Oh, okay. Got me on a technicality, boss! You've got my vote!" That's not how life works. Albert interviews that he has to think of his endgame, and that might meant getting rid of Sophie now.
Tribal Council. Probst points out that Ozzy has immunity and everyone knows that Coach has the Immunity Idol. Coach claims that he plans on playing it because it's the last time that he can. Probst shows off his math skills and says that the vote comes down to Rick, Sophie, or Albert. He wonders what Albert's argument is for staying around. Albert says that he's valuable because he can compete with Ozzy in challenge. Ozzy makes a face like, "THIS guy. He so crazy." And Albert isn't a challenge monster, but also, take it down a notch, Ozzy. Sophie says that she does think she's a threat to beat Ozzy because she's won more immunity challenges than Rick, Albert, and Coach. Ozzy chuckles but he doesn't make the crazy face at that claim. Then again, Sophie has won two and Albert and Coach have each won one. So she's technically right, but it's not like she's skunked them. Rick's argument for keeping him around is that he hasn't won any immunity challenges, so Ozzy should keep him around. Well, he's got Ozzy's vote but how did that help him with the others? No wonder they never let Rick talk.
Probst wants to hear Sophie counter Rick's argument, and instead of just saying, "It's dumb," she says that the most important thing for all of them right now is to get rid of Ozzy, and if Rick can't do it, they should get rid of him now. Harsh, but true. Probst wonders why Coach doesn't want Ozzy to move on. This is where Coach should say that Ozzy is a threat to beat him with the jury, but instead he falls back on his whole "this is a family" and "we made a bond" bullshit. He's losing jury votes every time he brings that up. The people who weren't part of the family hate to hear it, and the people that were, but got voted out, are pissed.
Ozzy decides to mix things up in front of the jury and tells everyone that Coach wants to take him to the finals. Coach really has no response but pretends like he doesn't care if Ozzy talks about this. Sophie breaks in and saves Coach's ass by saying that she doesn't just want Ozzy gone because of old loyalties; she doesn't think Ozzy respects her because he never speaks to her. Ozzy says that she acts like a spoiled brat and everyone who came to Redemption Island said so. Plus, she called him an arrogant asshole. Well, he is. Sophie points out that she's not the only one to say that, and Ozzy points out that she made snap judgments about him just like he did about her. I like Sophie, but Ozzy does have a point here. You can't get mad at someone for shit-talking you when you've been shit-talking yourself. Probst asks about that, and Sophie says that it felt personal and hurtful, and she's never been in a situation like this before, where people were commenting on her character. Probst keeps probing, and Sophie tears up as she says that she understands that this is a game and there is strategy, but she's tried to keep her character intact and avoid personal attacks against others. And now Ozzy is basically springing it on her that everyone hates her and it hurts. Probst wonders if this is helping her thicken her skin, and Sophie says that it's actually making her more vulnerable.
Finally, Probst points out what I was thinking all along; they're near the end of the game and they're all exhausted, and people might exploit that to get under her skin. Ozzy sits there like the cat that swallowed the canary. Sophie hiccups that it feels awful to think that everyone secretly hated her the whole time, and it feels worse to think that they might be right, and she is a terrible person. I know some people thought she was faking this breakdown, but I doubt it. Haven't you ever been in a stressful situation, like finals week or a tense meeting at work, and even if you (like me) are not a crier, something sets you off and the waterworks just flow? And that hiccupping thing? You can't fake that. I think if anything, she's trying to keep it under control because she doesn't want anyone to know that they got to her. That said, based on the looks she's getting from people like Dawn and Brandon, that show of vulnerability may have helped her with the jury. Probst reminds her that she's still in this game, and she's giving people a chance to get rid of her. They're going to get rid of her because she cried? Oh, Probst. Not everyone only wants an arrogant asshole to win like you do. He gives Sophie one last chance to pull it together and instead she tells him to start the voting. She knows she's not going anywhere, I think.
The voting starts. Rick and Ozzy vote for Sophie. Coach doesn't play the Idol because he's a dick. I mean, seriously. Just play it, even if you're sure you don't need to do so. Everyone else voted for Rick. Including Coach, who said earlier today that he wouldn't vote for Rick. Oops. Might have a hard time getting that jury vote, dude. When Rick stands to leave, Coach tries to give him a hug or a handshake or something and Rick is like, "Have a seat." Ouch. Probst reminds them that the final Immunity Challenge is the day, and the winner has an automatic pass to the finals. Rick's exit interview is bitter, bitter, bitter, and he says that Ozzy has his vote to win the whole thing. Looks like Ozzy's going to win the whole thing then, right? Let's cancel the second hour and head straight to the reunion!
Well, I guess we should follow through with the rest of the show, no matter what Rick says. Te Tuna. Day 38. The final four wake up and stretch. Ozzy interviews that he can taste victory, and his plan A is to win and his plan B is also to win. I have to say, what if he doesn't win the challenge? You'd think he would at least come up with something or start setting the stage for something to try to convince the others that there is a good reason to take him to the finals. I don't know what that argument would be, but Ozzy should. Anyway, Ozzy cuts down some coconuts and keeps them all to himself, because he says that he needs any advantage he can get. Meanwhile, Sophie, Coach, and Albert are sitting around the fire. Sophie doesn't want to give Ozzy any of their food, and says that Ozzy's mere presence in their camp is irritating her. I'm guessing his outburst at Tribal Council where he said she was a brat didn't help matters.
Coach pulls Ozzy aside to get a few things straight before the challenge. Coach says that he DID make a vow to Ozzy to take him to the finals, but he also asked Ozzy not to say anything to anyone. And then Ozzy spilled the beans at Tribal, so Coach wants to know what game Ozzy is playing. I would have laughed if Ozzy has answered, "Survivor?" But Ozzy is pretty humorless so I don't see that happening. Anyway, Ozzy says that he has trusted people in this game before, and gotten burned, so he didn't want to put all his eggs in Coach's basket. Coach interviews that everything changed for him when Ozzy made himself vulnerable. The two of them agree that they still want to go to the end together, and Ozzy says that he thinks they should make Albert and Sophie make a fire to see who goes home. So he and Coach should force a tie if possible. Ozzy interviews that he is psyched to be here and this challenge is where the rubber meets the road.
The final four head to the last Immunity Challenge. Probst explains that they will have to travel through a flower-shaped obstacle course to retrieve five bags of puzzle pieces, and then put together the puzzle to win immunity and a guaranteed spot in the finals. Okay, so there are five "petals" with one bag in each, and there are four contestants. Wouldn't you try to go to your own petal and avoid others? OR, if you were working with someone you trusted, one of you could try to block Ozzy while the other solved the puzzle? Those are the only two methods that make sense to me. Instead, Albert follows Sophie. This strategy kind of makes sense in a maze scenario, and we've definitely seen it done before. But it makes NO sense in this challenge, because they have to go out and back on, say, a rope course, and if someone is right behind you, that person is essentially blocking your way. Is Albert just dumb? And why follow Sophie of all people? I just don't get it.
Ozzy is first to return with a bag, then Albert, then Sophie, and then Coach. The funniest part is that to get from home base to one of the petals, the contestants have to travel across a giant net, and people are always funny trying to walk across nets. Especially when it's Coach, and he does a ninja roll for no reason. The lead keeps changing depending on which "petal" people choose; some are just easier than others, although Ozzy is pretty much always in the lead or just out of it. Albert continues to follow Sophie and slow her down. I don't think he's doing it on purpose; I think he just chose a dumb strategy. Aaaand, he does it again. Hmm. Maybe he is trying to sabotage her. Coach is traveling through a net tunnel and he tries to do a backwards roll, again, for no apparent reason. Leave it to Coach to do something in the most difficult way possible. Kind of a metaphor for his game.
So Ozzy's been working on his puzzle for a while but made no headway. It's basically a bunch of cogs and the pieces have to fit into the teeth of the cogs in a certain way. Once you get one or two in, the rest should be easy, but it's tough to get that first one down. Sophie is the first to actually fit a piece in correctly and Ozzy looks up, panicked. I think he's actually trying to see what she did, in case he can get a hint. Once Sophie gets her first three or so pieces in, Ozzy gets one, but Sophie is on a huge roll, and she finishes the puzzle first and wins final immunity. Go Sophie! Coach and Albert give her huge hugs and Ozzy swears. Probst congratulates her on her three individual immunity wins this season, and states that this is the most important one. You think? Thanks, Captain Obvious.
When the tribe returns to camp after the challenge, Ozzy congratulates Sophie on her win, and they all dissect how the puzzle was difficult at first but once you got a few pieces, it was easy. Ozzy interviews that his mind went blank during the puzzle and he couldn't get it. Ozzy also hopes that Coach was serious about wanting to take him to the end, but he doubts it. Then, off-camera, we hear Coach and Albert whooping it up and Ozzy just looks at the camera like, "Yeah, I'm screwed." Coach bestows Sophie with the title Dragon Slayer, and says that Ozzy was the Dragon this season. Sophie interviews that it was crucial that one of them beat Ozzy in the challenge, and she's hoping that she can parlay the victory into a good argument with the jury. Albert is jubilant that they beat "the bad guy." Don't gloat, Albert. It's always bad news. Coach advises them not to talk to Ozzy too much, because he's trying to sow dissension in their ranks. Sophie interviews that she knows that she and Albert will vote out Ozzy, but she's not a hundred percent sure what Coach will do, and allows that it's possible that Coach has some tricks up his sleeve when it comes to Ozzy.
Ozzy goes up to Coach and says, "I think you know what to do." Ozzy's argument is that he knows that Coach likes drama, and what could be more dramatic than Ozzy and Albert making a fire to determine who goes to the finals. Coach is like, "I can't break my word," and Ozzy is like, "You gave me your word too!" and Coach is like, "But then you betrayed me after I gave you my word," and my word, there is a lot of my word in this conversation. Ozzy keeps referring to Albert betraying Coach, and I'm not sure what he's talking about. Getting rid of Brandon? I am seriously drawing a blank here. Ozzy starts his smartest line of argument with Coach; he tells Coach that it needs to be two warriors battling it out in the finals (oh, and one pesky lady who is worthless in Ozzy's eyes). That might fly with Coach. In an interview, Coach says that he's pissed that things aren't easier for him at this point, and he feels like this should be an easy decision, but it's not. You know why it's not, Coach? Because you made too many deals, and some of them are going to conflict with one another. That's the way it goes.
Tribal Council. Sophie opens things up by saying how amazing it feels to have immunity. Ozzy talks about how he keeps rethinking how close he was to winning (not that close) but he couldn't get the puzzle piece in. I love how he can't admit that Sophie BEAT him. No, he had a mental lapse, or drew a blank. It couldn't possibly just be that she was better. Shut up, Ozzy. Although, from a strategic standpoint, if Ozzy is still hoping Coach will force a tie, Ozzy wants to emphasize that he deserved to be in the finals and it was a fluke that kept him out. Coach knows how Ozzy feels, and he thinks Ozzy is very deserving. Ozzy says that he and Coach talked many times about sitting in the final two together. Does Ozzy know that three people go to the finals these days? It is hilarious to me that Ozzy is just dismissing Sophie as a competitor. Oh, the irony. Anyway, Ozzy brings up the fact that Coach could force a tie. Coach says that he has wanted to play with honor, and he thinks Albert and Sophie are strong, but he also admires that Ozzy came back into the game in a nearly impossible manner. Again, not that impressive to me; he beat people who had just been voted out because they were weak, mostly. If it were so tough to go on a Redemption Island run, then why did it happen two years in a row? Matt didn't make the finals, but he did go on a run. Anyway, Albert admits that he would probably lose to Ozzy in a fire-making challenge, and he hopes that Coach will stick to his word. Or at least one of his words, since he's given his word to conflicting people.
Time to vote! Albert and Sophie vote for Ozzy. Ozzy votes for Albert. So who did Coach vote for? Ozzy. And he's gone. But not before the jury applauds him as his torch is snuffed, so they all made the right decision in getting rid of Ozzy, because the jury was clearly on his side.
Coach, Albert, and Sophie return to camp after Tribal Council on Night 38. They share a group hug as Coach interviews that he did have a dilemma at the vote, but it really wasn't a dilemma because he knew Ozzy had to go. Coach is so relieved to make it to the finals that he can't even be bothered to make up a good quote and just babbles something about Shakespeare and dreaming and never waking up. And then they go to sleep.
Te Tuna. Day 39. They get their final three breakfast, including champagne. After they eat, Albert goes for a walk and Coach and Sophie discuss how to handle him in front of the jury. They agree that Albert's gameplay has been a bit squirrelly and they hope the jury sees that, and that Albert is made to own up to it. Sophie interviews that she doesn't want to have another emotional breakdown in front of the jury, because she doesn't think that's befitting of someone who made it to the finals, and she hopes to make logical arguments. Depending on the jury, that could work or totally backfire. Some juries seem to want apologies, and some want cold, hard facts. I'm not sure which will work with this jury, but we shall see.
Then Sophie and Albert discuss how to deal with Coach. Sophie says that she doesn't want to "throw anyone under the bus" but if it starts to seem like Coach is "king of all kings," she might try it. Note that Sophie is open to changing strategy based on how the jury seems to be headed; this is important later. Albert interviews that he's confident because he truly thinks he's played the best game of the final three, and he thinks he can express himself well and sell himself well.
Time for Coach's final tai chi session. The camera people must love that Coach does this because it gives them great footage to show while Coach is talking ridiculous nonsense about how he started as the Dragon and now he's the Phoenix and he's headed for ultimate victory. Does he hear himself? Anyway, then they set the camp on fire and it's off to face the jury.
The jury enters and Ozzy has his hair in two braids like Pippi Longstocking. He's one of those people who just looks better while on the island then off. His hair looked awesome with the island ringlets; goes to show there might be something to that trope about curly hair doing better with less shampoo. Anyway, opening statements. Albert's speech is really insincere to me, as he talks about how he enjoyed getting to know people. Sophie goes the "outwit, outplay, outlast" route: she won challenges, she made the finals, and she stuck to her original alliance. She does admit that she wasn't great at the social game, but she tried to be herself (unlike ALBERT, she doesn't say) and make friendships. She seems really nervous. Coach says that the game wasn't built for someone like him, but he tried to "play with compassion, love, appreciation and respect," and he opened himself to others. You can't really tell much from the jury members' reactions to these statements, other than Rick looks pissed, still, and Brandon looks confused, still.
Before we get to the jury questions, you should all go back and reread [url=http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/survivor/notable-jury-speeches-besides.php?page=1]Miss Alli's seminal piece about the different types of jury questions[/url]. It is a masterpiece written by someone who knows more about this game than I ever will, and when you see people reference, "My question is: you suck," it comes from this piece. Just wanted to give it a shout-out because I don't think she gets enough credit.
Ozzy will ask the first question, and he stands up in his stupid Tommy Bahama shirt and braids and hams it up for the jury: "All right, you guys ready for this?" Rick glowers at him. Rick hates everyone right now. Ozzy has clearly rehearsed his question, and I hate it when the questions are rehearsed. Ozzy says that the good news is that this game's not decided and the bad news is that no one wants to vote for any of them. The implication is that they all wanted to vote for Ozzy and if it weren't for a stupid girl, they could have. Ozzy tells Sophie that she's "a privileged, pretentious brat" but "luckily, [she] can't change." Luckily? Whuh? Then he tells Albert that he just got lucky and didn't actually do anything. Then he tells Coach that it's impressive to make it to the end as a veteran, but he claimed to play with honor and integrity. And yet, if he did play that way, it should be Ozzy versus Coach right now. Again, Ozzy thinks it's a two-person finale. I know this never would have happened, but oh how awesome it would have been to have Ozzy, Coach, and someone else in the finals and then the someone else won? Anyway, Coach says that he wanted to play with honor but he kept coming to these crossroads where he had to make choices and break his word. In the jury, Rick squeezes Brandon's shoulder. Coach adds that he thinks he played most of the time honorably, but sometimes not. The problem is that the "sometimes not" moments involved a lot of these jurors. I can't believe Coach didn't anticipate this problem. I wonder what would happen if he just flat out said, "I tried to play with honor, but I've learned that it's not possible to make it to the end of this game without breaking your word. I regret making promises that I wasn't able to keep. I'm human. I tried, and I failed. But I did try." Then again, I think most of the jurors' minds are already made up, no matter what Ozzy says.
Jim stands up and asks Albert the classic question: why should you win and the other two lose? Albert has got to have a prepared answer for this question; someone asks a version of it every season. The problem is that Jim doesn't want Albert to start with a compliment like, "Coach is a nice guy, but..." That right there is a clue as to how the jury sees Albert. They've noticed that he tends to schmooze them, and they don't want to hear it right now. A savvier player would pick up on that. Albert instead compliments Jim's question and the whole jury cracks up. Albert? You hear that? That's the million dollars slipping away. Anyway, Albert says that, despite appearances, Coach was not the leader of Upolu, and he and Sophie carried Coach. Also, Albert believes Sophie did not play a good social game.
Dawn wants to understand Sophie's strategy, and why she chose to ally with Coach and Albert specifically. Sophie says that she's noticed that men in this game tend to be able to get two young girls to follow them to the end. That's known as the Russell/Boston Rob strategy. Anyway, she's not a dude, but she did latch onto Coach, who she compares to a young girl (grimace from Coach) in the sense that he's intensely loyal and she knew he wouldn't vote her out. She aligned with Albert because they both liked to talk strategy, but their relationship disintegrated as time went on. But as it got close to the end, she realized that she had a better shot at beating Albert than Rick, so she kept him around. Dawn nods and seems to agree with everything Sophie says. At least no one laughed at her answer, as they did with Albert.
Rick (who really is wearing a Tommy Bahama shirt) lumbers up and says, "Here we go." He reminds Coach that he claimed to want to play with honor and dignity, and gave Rick his word. So now he wonders if Coach has anything to say to him. Coach apologizes. Rick was clearly expecting a longer answer so he just says that Coach knifed him in the back. Then Rick tells Albert that when he used religion to get Brandon's immunity necklace, it was a bunch of bull. Albert starts to comment but Rick isn't interested. Rick asks Sophie why she lied the whole way through the game. Sophie says that she tried to only lie when she had to in order to get further in the game, and lying to Rick is the one thing she's ashamed of. Rick says he has nothing else to say to them. Did Rick never lie in the game? Ever? He never lied about who he was voting for? What about when he voted out Brandon? Was he honest about that? Rick is bitter, bitter, bitter, and he's had a few days to come to terms with it, and it's only made him more bitter. I still never understand people who come on this show and are shocked - SHOCKED - that the people who make it to the finals tell lies and stab others in the back.
Brandon stands up and reminds Coach (boy, they are going after Coach, which means that either there's no way they'll vote for him or they want to vote for him and are looking for a reason) that he promised, as a man of God, that he would never vote Brandon out. Coach starts by thanking Brandon for raising the spirituality bar this season, and says that Brandon should be in the finals, and Coach wants to make it up to him. Has Coach honestly forgotten that he talked many times about getting rid of Brandon? It wasn't like it was a sudden decision that one night. Brandon forgives Coach and moves on to Albert, asking if he used God to get further in the game. Albert denies doing so, and says that he would NEVER! And also thanks Brandon for bringing him back to God. Brandon interrupts the bullshit (I'm sorry, but it is) and asks, "Did you know I was going home?" Albert starts in on a lengthy explanation, so Brandon asks the question again, and again, and says it just needs a yes or no answer, which Albert can't give. Probably because he did know, but knows that admitting it means losing the game right here. Brandon was kind of powerful right there. I wish we had seen more of that Brandon and less crazy Brandon or Jesus-y Brandon. But it's also very telling that Albert couldn't answer that question without a million attempted caveats. He's playing right into the storyline that the jury has created for him.
Whitney's up. In case you were wondering what the jury has been talking about in the past weeks, here it is: Albert is sleazy and buttered people up when they were getting voted out in hopes of getting their jury votes. Coach used religion to manipulate and bully his tribe. Sophie is condescending and didn't try to get to know anyone. Sophie responds that she's blunt, and intimidating, and now that she's heard this feedback, she hopes to become a better person. She's the only one that Whitney allowed to respond, tellingly.
Edna stands up to be the voice of reason, although I have to believe that she's also made this speech at the Ponderosa (where they are sequestered) so it's kind of just for show. But still. She says that the point of the game is manipulation, and they shouldn't hold hard feelings because they signed up to be duped. It's just that the finalists were better at manipulation than they were. Ozzy nods in agreement.
I would just skip Keith because he's boring but something interesting came out as they answered his question. Keith asks Coach about the Hidden Immunity Idol and if he ever intended to play it or what. Coach says that he considered it a team idol, and he thought about playing it at the merge to try to gain a numbers advantage, but then Cochran flipped, and it was a moot point. And THEN! The thing I've been waiting for all season happens. Sophie reveals that they actually found the idol early on, but then Brandon wouldn't stop searching for it, and they had to stage a discovery. Coach looks PISSED. Brandon looks stupefied. Jim smirks. I don't know if that made any difference but it really bugged me that those facts never came out. So thanks, Sophie.
Cochran tells Coach that he was a fan, and he loves that Coach tricked him, because he thinks Coach played a fantastic game. The problem is, Cochran doesn't like how much Coach talked about honor, which is meaningless, and he wants to hear what Coach's actual strategy was. And Coach finally gets real. He says that he began the game trying to please everyone, and that meant ultimately pleasing no one. He wanted to make it to the end so badly, knowing it was his third and final time playing the game, and he would justify his own actions every day, but he knows that he screwed people over in the process. He worked his game into a shambles and everyone hates him now, and he knows that he's not a good strategist. Sophie sees an opening and says that it's probably her fault, because she formulated Coach's strategy, and Albert takes some credit for it too. Coach is screwed because he just admitted his terrible strategy, so the people who would have voted for him if he had maintained his "honor" talk are disappointed, and the people who are happy he finally came clean probably think it's too late. Oh, Coach. It's kind of sad to see Coach realize that he's screwed.
Voting time! Cochran votes for Coach and tells him that he has nothing to apologize for, because he played a great game. Dawn votes for Sophie; I think she was won over by the combination of honest emotion and clear logic. Multiple people seem to really take their time thinking over their votes, so this really could have gone any way. Probst retrieves the votes and heads back to L.A. to wait for the reunion, when the winner will be revealed.
Flash to the live reunion, where the jury and the finalists sit on stage to wait for the reading of the votes. Insert obligatory comment about how everyone looks weird and puffy now. Probst gives a big speech reminding us what the game is, like duh! Just read the votes, Hammy! The first vote is for Coach, and the second one is for Sophie. We saw those two votes, so no shocker there. Coach gets another vote. Then Sophie gets another one. Then Coach gets another one, and Sophie gets another one. So we're tied 3-3. The two votes are for Sophie, and she wins! I'm so pleased that a WOMAN, who used logic and strategy and not her bangin' bikini bod managed to pull this off. Sophie runs down and hugs her family and the reunion begins. We get a preview of what the focus will be when Probst tells the camera that we'll be talking about Coach, Ozzy, Cochran, and Brandon (and Russell, who's glowering in the audience) coming up. So I hope you like talking about dudes!